Hello, dear readers. I guess I should post a few more pictures here and there. It's been a fantastic weekend, as my dear friend Phill came to visit! :D For my new readers, Phill is from UK but is now teaching in Korea. He took a week off and trotted around Tokyo by himself, and then Nozomi'ed down to lovely Okayama. Friday evening, he got here and we met up with Richard and Bethany and went to Korakuen to watch the moon. That's right, it was moon-viewing night and the garden was open. There was koto-playing and tea ceremonies, but the lines were really long so we didn't get a close look. It was somewhat cloudy, but we knew we could see the moon again when the crowds applauded as the moon peeked back out.

Saturday, Phill and I went to the good ol' Bikan area. We fed the fishies...that is, until I accidentally dropped the baggie into the water. The fishies had a bit of a heyday with that until they couldn't get at the loose ones anymore. I really hope none of them ate the baggie and choked on it. :(

Here is Phill sitting at the end of the bridge in the Bikan. What a pretty shot. It'd be prettier if someone weren't in the way, teehee, j/k!!
Before the Bikan Area, Phill, Bethany, and I went for the tried-and-true kaiten sushi (conveyor belt). Phill even took a movie, but I think this picture is good enough. *note to self: Blogger posts pictures in reverse order...* Mmm...look at that yummy tuna...
Anyway, that was pretty much Saturday. We went to Okayama and hit up the Daiso there, as well as a trendy new ramen place. Sunday we took it easy and tried the pizza place near me. It happened to be all-you-can-eat lunch, so we had pizza, pasta, salads, and yummy drinks. The banana smoothie was pretty good! Then we just shopped around the stores in my usual stomping grounds, and then came back to take some much-needed naps. We tried to go to bed early, since we had to wake up at 5am today!! The airport bus from my city left at 6:05, and the next one would've gotten us to the airport too close for comfort. So we sat around the airport for a few hours before he had to go. Really it was a bit of a whirlwind, and it is indeed the shortest time we've spent together, but it was an adventure! I have only ever been in 3 countries, and I've spent time with Phill in each! :)

After I got home, it felt like it was afternoon, but really it wasn't even 10am yet. I did some laundry, hung my futons out, then finally took a nap. Then Bethany came over to study, and then David came over for no apparent reason than just to chill. :) I decided that "goshdarnit, I will NOT spend Thanksgiving alone!!" so I made them stay for dinner. Turkey's not easy to find here, so we had the next best thing. Chicken with thyme and garlic, oodles of mashed potatoes, and some soggy frozen veggies. Dinner was lovely (of course, because I cooked it), and it was nice to have the company. It perhaps wasn't *authentic* since I had cooked the perfect amount and there were NO leftovers. I'm so proud of myself.

All in all, a fantastic weekend! All that and I even managed to study a little bit!!